Merry Christmas

Psalm 37:7 Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him...

A friend of mine told me a "story" about being on a plane in a holding pattern.
Not a fun place to be.
She related it to how we can get ourselves so worked up about "life". Worrying over the "hows" and "whens" and "whys".
I have felt like that. When I feel like that, who am I trusting in? Myself, and my ability to do something about the "situation". Can I do anything, really? I can do as the verse here says, be still.
It's the best thing we can do.
I pray the New Year brings all the blessings you can imagine, with love

HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone!!

God loves me

This is how this verse makes me feel, happy!
True confession. I have had a skewed picture of myself (in my mind). This week Renee spoke about how much God loves us. She gave examples from her own experience. It made me sad, at first, to hear her talk about her feelings about herself. But I realized I had some of those same feelings about myself. I think it made God sad, to hear it. When God made me He said "it is good!", who am I to argue? But when it comes down to daily life, do I believe it? Not always.
This self acceptance needs to be reality. It affects every one of our relationships. I want to have healthy relationships. When we do,(really believe how much God loves us) we will truly have the Glory of God manifest in our life.
So here I am Lord, saying, I'm glad you made me the way I am, I'm thankful for all my seen and unseen blessings, and for the gifts You have placed in my life, I purpose to use them for Your glory, to make sure everyone knows just how much You love them too!


Ephesians 1:4 (The Message)


The God of Glory
3-6How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He's the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.

I was tagged by my dear friend Tammy- I've linked to her blog- She is a mighty woman of God, and has some mighty cute kids!

Here's how it works.1) Link to the person who tagged you.2) Post the rules on your blog (copy and paste 1-6).3) Write 6 random things about yourself (see below).4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

1) In this lifetime I've considered being a nurse, a baker and landscape designer.
2) I would love to own a successful business.
3) I was born and have lived most of my life in Minnesota, but have also lived in Florida (which I lovingly call my 6 mo. "vacation"(it was nothing of the sort!) I had a 2 and a half year old AND a 4 mo. old baby and by the time we left, was pregnant with our 3rd. Evan (the baby) cried non stop the whole time, until we came home to MN, when he promptly stopped. But, don't get me wrong it wasn't ALL bad.
4) When I was a girl, my parents, who were both disabled, took us on many summer road trip vacations, camping along the way. I still have fond memories, of helping set up camp.
5) I have also daydreamed of giving away everything and traveling across America with my family in an RV.
6) My prayer is that we would find the right "job" and that we would be able to see our children and grandchildren (that live far away) more. Though I love them one and all!

I have tagged these wonderful women and friends!


Ella Bella
The Sparrow Talks
El Norteno
Happy Wife of Eliud
This is my Life
Renee Burt

Halloween

O.K. I dressed up for Halloween! It was fun. For weeks we have been discussing costumes. At first the boys wanted to be commandos. Now, I didn't really have a problem with it except that they wanted to carry air soft guns. And I was pretty sure our neighbors wouldn't care for that. As it turned out, they didn't go to even one of our neighbors homes. We ended up in Fridley where the Browns live. But back to the planning phase... My suggestion was, be a band. I knew they would all want to be together anyway, and they all already have the "look". But of course they went extreme, KISS. With a little help from my dear friend Elizabeth, we did a shopping trip to "Savers" and found shoes, clothing and wigs, then we did some alterations of the clothing. It finally all came together last night. And I think it all came together quite well. They got some nice comments on their outfits, had they gone to a party, they would have won. I pretty sure it will be their last year going house to house.
Elizabeth and I were pirate wenches, as last minute costumes. The weather turned out a bit chilly, but the kids were fine without coats, though I needed one.
All in all we had a great time!

Oh and here is Evan and Ginny and Liberty. I was at their house early in the day, babysitting, so I had to have a picture. Aren't they cute!( It's from my cell phone, so it's not that great, sorry)

Card

I took a picture I had, of my Mom (from when she was young) and made a card from it as a tribute to her. I miss her and love her always. She's been gone for awhile (2001). I spent alot of time with her those last few years, and I'm so glad. She was not only my Mom but she was also my friend.

New puppy and end of the garden

We finally were able to meet Scotts new puppy Dottie. She is a 12 week old pug mix and cute as a button.
While we were there Scott dug his carrots, from the garden. Not a huge patch but plenty for a couple of meals. We tasted one and they were sweet and crunchy. There were also plenty of cherry tomatoes and a few peppers ready to eat. We still haven't had that first freeze, but I think we're on borrowed time as far as the garden goes. Katie has a picture of Scott with a rake standing in the garden, so I'll have to put that one up too (when we upload it from her camera).

Manna

Acts 18:10 (Amplified Bible)

" For I am with you, and no man shall assault you to harm you, FOR I HAVE MANY PEOPLE IN THIS CITY."

We have to remember we're not outnumbered. Sometimes this world seems so evil, we feel outnumbered. And don't get me wrong, I believe we still have a lot of work to do for the Lord, but it's all about what we think is true.
Yesterday I was listening to some people talk about President Lincoln and his general, General George B. McClellan. Now McClellan was a good man, but many times he didn't believe he should win or even could win. In his mind he was outnumbered. Before we can have any impact we must believe we are conquerors, we are the winners. Now Say- I am a winner!"

manna

Here is a new card. I picked up some Cosmo Cricket paper, I love it and it inspires me. They have a website, check it out! http://cosmocricket.com/ and also Paper Whimsy, http://www.paperwhimsy.com




The Message (MSG)


Isaiah 40.27-31

27-31Why would you ever complain, O Jacob,
or, whine, Israel, saying,
"God has lost track of me.
He doesn't care what happens to me"?
Don't you know anything? Haven't you been listening?
God doesn't come and go. God lasts.
He's Creator of all you can see or imagine.
He doesn't get tired out, doesn't pause to catch his breath.
And he knows everything, inside and out.
He energizes those who get tired,
gives fresh strength to dropouts.
For even young people tire and drop out,
young folk in their prime stumble and fall.
But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.
They spread their wings and soar like eagles,
They run and don't get tired,
they walk and don't lag behind.

God wants us to look to Him, trust Him. Here's another website to visit-
http://smallgroups.lwcc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=51&Itemid=146

My friend and leader Renee Burt. She's the BEST!" Renees Daily Scripture".

We're not quitters!

Hebrews 10:22-25(Message)
"So let's do it—full of belief, confident that we're presentable inside and out. Let's keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching."

My manna for today. That phrase "Let's keep a firm grip" made me think of my manna from the other day, about holding on to God's promises with both hands.
And vs.39
"But we're not quitters who lose out. Oh, no! We'll stay with it and survive, trusting all the way."
That's what I want to do, Keep a firm grip on what I believe and stick with it all the way.
Sometimes it seems so hard. Yes, but really what seems hard and what is hard are two very different things. It says earlier on in the chapter about how God feels when we turn our back on His sacrifice.
"what do you think will happen if you turn on God's Son, spit on the sacrifice that made you whole, and insult this most gracious Spirit?"
Now that would be hard. Facing the Most Holy God, after turning your back on the One Who loved you enough to give His Own life? But that is what we do when we doubt.
Oh, no, it's not too hard for me to stay on track and survive, trusting all the way!

September

Hebrews 6.18-20 (the Message) We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It's an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.

I read this today and it made me think of my feelings recently.
Scottie came through once again. There were a couple of times when I was doing just that, holding on with both hands to the promise God gave me.
John 4:50 (The Message)

Jesus simply replied, "Go home. Your son lives."

The man believed the bare word Jesus spoke and headed home. On his way back, his servants intercepted him and announced, "Your son lives!"

But Scottie is good! No more pacemaker, no wires! That is victory.
I went over this week to his house and helped make salsa . Pretty much everything came from the garden! I wish I had a picture, but I don't.But we're not finished yet putting things in jars, so I'll get one.
I hope you all had a great Labor day. We did, Dave and I spent it together at the MN state fair. It was great, a perfect day.

The Irish Fair

There were lots of fun things to do at the fair. Terry and Shelley entered photos they took on one of their trips to Ireland, and Terry won 3rd place. She was so excited.
There were dog breeds of Ireland. The St. Paul bagpipe band performed. Also Brooks and Jackie designed and ordered shirts for us. They had the McCoy motto, "with a strong hand" and in the back they had "Clan MacKay" .It was really fun matching.
I have a few more pics I will add when I get the chance.

Some new pictures

A couple of lilies that opened, one, when I was gone and one just yesterday.
My manna today was from Matthew 10.29-31,Here it is from the Message.
"What's the price of a pet canary? Some loose change, right? And God cares what happens to it even more than you do. He pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! So don't be intimidated by all this bully talk. You're worth more than a million canaries".
The Amplified says "Fear not, then you are of more value than many sparrows"
I am so thankful the Lord put that in there. He cares about us and watches over us. WHATEVER it is! Jobs, kids, friends, Life, He knows it all.
I'm glad to be home. Here to enjoy the beautiful weather and summer. Fall will be here all to soon. There are LOTS of great things about fall, there's just something about summer that I'm not quite ready to give up.

Our family

Here is a super cool site! Check it out! It's called wordle.
http://wordle.net/

Scott's garden

Here are some pictures I took yesterday of Scotty and Nikki's beautiful garden. It is such a blessing to see how happy it makes him and how he delights in tending it.
I think it's done him a world of good. They have, in the garden, (just to name a few) tomatoes, beans, eggplant, peppers(both hot and mild),lettuces, zucchini, melons, peas, as well as herbs, sage, lavender, lemon verbena,and mint. And as you see from the pictures, flowers as well.
He has been in training to do his dialysis at home. It should enable him to go back to school, which is what he wants to do. It has made a big difference in how he feels. Instead of 3 times a week, he has been having dialysis 5 days a week, keeping his blood levels more consistent, and therefore more energy. So it's a good thing. Thanks for keeping us in your prayers, I know it makes a difference.

Psalm 31:19 (Amplified Bible)

Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear, revere, and worship You, goodness which You have wrought for those who trust and take refuge in You before the sons of men!

This is my hope, God's goodness.

New Art

Here are some new things I've made.
The first reminds me that I belong to Jesus, and I am from true royalty.
1 John 3:2
Beloved, we are [even here
and] now God's children; it
is not yet disclosed (made clear)
what we shall be [hereafter],
but we know that when He
comes and is manifested, we
shall [ as God's children]
resemble and be like Him,
for we shall see Him just as
He [really] is.

The second reminds me to Sing from my heart to the Lord.
Psalm 71:23
My lips shall shout for joy
when I sing praises to You,
and my inner being, which
You have redeemed.

Baby Liberty

Here she is! We went to the beach (32nd St beach) and she smiled right away, then I tried to make her laugh, by making funny noises, and she cried. It was hot, and she just wanted to be at home.

It's a law

Hey I just wanted to say a few things, as I'll be gone for 3 weeks.
First Scotty is out of the hospital! He was released on Friday. We found out that it was a staph infection, that he had. He is feeling much better.
Second, we had a visiting minister Friday night, and he was speaking of becoming Kingdom minded. Really good. On Saturday morning Dave and I had to go to Mankato (to clean a building), a 1 1/2 hour drive. As we were traveling, we listened to a message called "The Law of Confession". We passed through a shower, and saw a rainbow. I was thinking about rainbows, how they are one of Gods' laws. The conditions have to be right, but when there is rain and sunshine, there will always be a rainbow. It's a law! True and never failing. It made me very happy. It was a vivid picture of Gods' faithfulness to us. It's equally true for any of Gods' law. What you speak out of your mouth will happen. So what do you want to happen? I use a little book by Charles Capps. Words are alive, you can use them for life or death, it's a law. I was speaking some Life Words today, and I'm looking for some GOOD things to happen.
I'm going to try to post when I'm gone, but I'm usually pretty busy at camp. The picture is from camp, North Central Camp Cherith,(camp-cherith.com) flag raising every morning.
I love you and pray Gods best plan for you, see you when I get home...

Scotty

Jeremiah 29:11-12 (New Living Translation)
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.



11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen.

Isn't this a comfort?
On Sunday Scotty called us, he thought he better go to urgent care. He hadn't been feeling well all week. He'd had various symptoms, including a low grade fever, and a cough. When we were seen at urgent care, the Dr. basically told him he should really be at the ER. Looking at his vitals, he told him he needed a blood test and the urgent care didn't have access to any testing. So we went over to the U of M. They drew a bunch of blood for tests, they got him on oxygen because he wasn't getting saturation, and they started i.v. antibiotics.
Yesterday they were thinking one of the leads to his pacemaker were infected, but after another test, they ruled that out(praise the Lord)! Now they think it may be the port where he gets his dialysis, which comes right out of his heart. So they have removed the port and will culture it for bacteria. Meanwhile he's getting 3 types of antibiotics. He seems to be feeling some better, and had a good nights sleep last night.
All this time Dave has been out of town. He's down in Rochester, doing a strip and re coat of the floors in a Petsmart there. So he's wishing he could be here, but has been in constant phone contact, and having an all night prayer meetings, while working. He should be back today. He better be we're (the boys and I) are supposed to leave Sunday for 3 weeks of camp!
God is so good, I praise him for strength and patience, which He gives so liberally. If God brings us to your thoughts, pray for us.

God is our help!

I am so thankful for Psalm 91. Here is a portion of it, Psalm 91.14-16 from the Message.

"If you'll hold on to me for dear life," says God,
"I'll get you out of any trouble.
I'll give you the best of care
if you'll only get to know and trust me.
Call me and I'll answer, be at your side in bad times;
I'll rescue you, then throw you a party.
I'll give you a long life,
give you a long drink of salvation!"

You can get to thinking you're all alone in this world, but you're not you know. It's only when you get your eyes off God, that you do. Things may be pressing on every side, but remember you have a Sure foundation. One who wants the best for you! One who wants to rescue you then throw you a party and give you a long life.
We just celebrated 32 years of marriage. Dave and I were thinking about our wedding day, last night. About the months leading up to it, how we met, our courtship. What fun times we had. There was a time though, before he knew we were getting married, that I knew we were getting married. Dave knew it was time for him to get married, he just wasn't sure who he was to marry. But The Lord had him picked out for me.
One day, as he was trying to find his wife, he asked another girl out, they were going to see the Minnesota orchestra. Oh, how disappointed I was. It should have been me! Would he ever see that I was the one? Well it turned out soon enough, that he did find out I was the one. And once he did, it didn't really take that long. The very first time he called me was on Christmas night 1975. We talked and talked, got to know one another better. Then a couple weeks later, on my birthday we had our first "date". He invited me over to meet his Mom and sister, and we went sledding. But all this might never have happened if I had given up on my dream. If, on finding out Dave had chosen another , I had said "well, that will never happen!". What I'm trying to say is this, even if you think it will never happen, you don't know what's really going on, it will, just don't give up!
And by the way, that wasn't our first "date", only he didn't know it, and I didn't know it. The summer before, he was going to visit an elderly "sister"(from church)at the hospital, to pray for her. He thought he shouldn't go alone, so he invited me (he probably thought I was too young, I was 17 and he was 23). We took the bus down to the hospital to visit her. So we "ministered" together for our first date. Isn't God good! See, I just encouraged myself.
My challenge to you, look back, see if God hasn't had a hand in your life and times. He has you know, whether you see it or not!

Big Fish revisited

Then and now...
Dave was on a trip for work and passed through the little town of Bena,MN. In that town is an old building shaped like a fish. My sister and I had our picture taken in that fishes mouth, in 1963. I think the fish needs some TLC.

Liberty Marie

Here are a few new pics of Liberty. Isn't she sweet!

Fresh Manna

1 Sam 30.6 (Message)"David strengthened himself with trust in his God"

Way back, a very long time ago, Dave and I had a vision. We saw that people were in need of encouragement, we needed encouragement and we wanted to help. We thought up the term "Encouragement cards", a post card that could convey a word , a thought. We could never really come up with a good way to do it. But I think the Lord has given us the way to do it. My ATC's (artist trading cards)! Small, pocket size.
All it takes is a word, to change a mind, change a life. I am going to do my best to bless as many people as I can, by combining Fresh Manna, confessions, art and love. I want to make it fun and interesting.
It doesn't stop there though, as it says in the verse, you have to encourage yourself. David was in a hard place. He had been attacked and his family taken prisoner. His home and the homes of his men, were destroyed. His men were ready to kill him. What did he do? He trusted God.
Trust God, He will not fail you!

Scottie

Hey
I wanted you to know Scottie was back in the hospital and out again. He had to start kidney dialysis yesterday. His kidneys aren't doing so well. He hasn't really felt good since he had pneumonia awhile ago, and it may not have been pneumonia at all. What I believe is that he will come through this. He is one amazing guy, so strong. The Lord gave me Romans 4. 17-18 (Message)

We call Abraham "father" not because he got God's attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. Isn't that what we've always read in Scripture, God saying to Abraham, "I set you up as father of many peoples"? Abraham was first named "father" and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing. When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn't do but on what God said he would do. And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples. God himself said to him, "You're going to have a big family, Abraham!"

Isn't that good? I've decided to believe, not looking at what I see. God Is so good. More later...

My Title

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Venerable Lady Star the Crepuscular of Melbury Bubblewick Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

ATC

A couple of new ATC's, artist trading cards.

Happy Easter

Hey-just a few pics from Easter dinner. Sorry, alot of Liberty pics, she's just so cute! We were at the Browns. It was great!

Who is your Mystery Date?

Finally almost finished, but here is your first look.

Yesterday I recieved a art kit I had ordered. One of the pictures included, made me think of that old game, mystery date. I began to think, what if there was one for husbands, about the many moods of their wives. SO, I'm working on an art piece that's for men. Whose your Mystery date? You're never sure who will show up! I'll have some scans of it soon. Fun, Fun, Fun.

Remember "Mystery Date"?

Happy St. Patty's Day

Now I'm not Irish, but I do have a family connection. Have an Irish weekend!

More

Geoff and Liberty. Proud uncle.

more pictures

We were able to see Liberty and meet Ginnys mom and brothers, last weekend. We had a nice visit. Here is Mom, me, Geoff, Ginny and Evan.

Cameron Scott

Hey
This week was very busy. On Tuesday evening(10:30p) Nikki called, she said Scotty was in the ER. They were giving him nitro glycerin. Apparently they thought he was in the process of having a heart attack. He had all the "classic" symptoms of one, chest pain, hard to breathe, high blood pressure,tingling in his hands, plus he was shaking all over. BUT he had been sick for the last week and a half. Cough, fever the whole bit. They admitted him and did tons of tests, including a heart biopsy, CT scan, blood work. Didn't find anything, except he does have pneumonia. They were considering putting in a PIC line to send him home with IV antibiotics. They were having trouble finding an oral medication that would kill the "bugs". I really did not want this to happen(just another place for infection). But he came home yesterday with oral meds! An answer to prayer for sure. Now to say we were happy that it was pneumonia seems kind of funny but the alternative, well we're just not having that. When we were on our way to the hospital I was kind of surprised I wasn't afraid. I was nervous, but I guess that's normal. I went back in my mind to the scripture the Lord gave me way back in 2003, John 4:50 (Amplified Bible)

"Jesus answered him, Go in peace; your son will live! And the man put his trust in what Jesus said and started home."

I still believe it! This time "go in peace" stuck out. Thank you Lord, for peace. This verse is so big in me, so real, I can hear Jesus say it. It's mine.

Let me introduce "Liberty McCoy"

Here we are just hangin' out, Mama, Daddy, and Liberty. Isn't she sweet?